Infected Mushroom: Animatronica Tour @ Club Nokia [Event Review]

Last week, I had the pleasure of getting to catch Infected Mushroom for their Animatronica Tour, with full stage production and a live band. Hailing from Israel, the duo Amit and Duvdevani made a name for themselves in 1996, known mostly for their unique and distinctive psychedelic trance style of electronic music. Aside from playing over 120+ sold-out shows per year, they’ve performed at some of the world’s largest festivals such as Coachella, Ultra, and Tomorrowland, easily making them one of the best-selling groups in Israeli music history in terms of both domestic and international sales.

(Erez playing the keyboard)

(Duvdev on the mic)

January of this year I got the opportunity to work with team Infected, assisting them with tour logistics and management. It wasn’t until last week when I was finally able to meet the duo and the whole crew. Excited and yet somewhat nervous, I didn’t know what to expect. As soon as we got into the venue, familiar faces greeted us with warm hugs and smiling faces.

(Drummer Rogerio Jardim)

Seeing the crew maintaining that high positive energy while digesting such busy tour schedules really said something special about the duo, which I’m sure all the fans felt. Infected Mushroom has given a new birth to psytrance and brought along new fans to this genre since the early years of 1996; since then building their incredibly dedicated fan base.

(Guitarist Tommy Cunningham)

Known for their off-the-top live stage productions, Infected Mushroom once again did not let down their army of mushrooms for their Animatronica Tour. They brought the stage to life, as the lasers brightly beamed across the venue, from the evil eyes of the robotronic mushrooms, animated with moving arms and mouths. This massive production with special LEDs, lasers, and evil mushrooms was sure to make even the soberest person to “trip.”

The energy that resonated from the crowd was nothing like what I felt before from Club Nokia. The venue was filled with 18-year-olds to even 60-year-old fans that came out to rage with Infected. Fans of all color, race, gender, and age was well represented from the crowd as if all of Los Angeles had gathered for the night.

With Duvdev on the mics and Erez on the keyboard, alongside guitarist Tommy Cunningham and drummer Rogerio Jardim, the live band played out most of the tracks from their latest album, “Friends on Mushrooms”. The crowd went wild as the band continued their unique set of psytrance, metal/rock, and drum & bass. Needless to say, Infected Mushroom put on a killer show in Los Angeles, as they continue on the tour to Russia, Ukraine, Canada, and more. Be sure to check out their tour dates to find out where you can see them next.